The "Circ-dirge" begins with a discord resolving to a minor chord for tremulant strings, not unlike a baby's cry, followed by 26 low drumbeats at one-second intervals, sounding very like a baby's heartbeat. After a brief hesitation, the discord is repeated and the cycle continues endlessly.

(In fact, of course, babies are circumcised at irregular intervals and the process takes much longer than 26 seconds.)